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Uncle Who Vouched for Terror Suspect Arrested

In the days after he emerged in September as a suspect in what federal prosecutors called a Qaeda terror plot, much about the life of Najibullah Zazi became the subject of intense interest.

Among the areas of interest were his job as a shuttle driver at the Denver airport; his purchases of beauty supplies that prosecutors said were the ingredients for homemade explosives; and his relationships with relatives, including an uncle by marriage who took Mr. Zazi in when he first moved to Denver from Queens.

Now, months after Mr. Zazi’s arrest on bombing-conspiracy charges, his uncle, Naqib Jaji, 38, has been secretly arrested in the case. Mr. Jaji, who in his public remarks had indicated some antipathy toward Mr. Zazi, 24, but said it was “impossible” that the young man was a terrorist, was arraigned this month in a sealed federal courtroom in Brooklyn, a sign that he may be cooperating in the case.

Court and federal prison records and interviews with a family member indicate Mr. Jaji was indicted on a felony charge, which remains sealed. The court docket on the case lists him as John Doe, a standard practice in cases where a defendant is cooperating.

Mr. Jaji’s lawyer, Donald D. DuBoulay, declined to comment, as did the authorities.

A family member has said that Mr. Jaji came to New York in recent weeks to find work, and that he was questioned by the F.B.I. for three days before his arrest.

Prosecutors have said the three men traveled together to Pakistan in August 2008 and then to Afghanistan to receive Qaeda training, and returned the following January, when Mr. Zazi abruptly moved to Denver, staying first with his aunt and uncle in the suburb of Aurora, and later moving in with his parents after they moved there from Queens.

Mr. Medunjanin was charged with conspiring to commit murder in a foreign country and with receiving military-style training from Al Qaeda. Mr. Ahmedzay was charged with lying to the F.B.I. about the places he visited in Afghanistan and Pakistan and whether he knew that another man had received the training.

All three are being held without bail.

When Mr. Zazi left Queens for Colorado early last year, he moved in with his father’s sister and Mr. Jaji, who then lived in a modest two-story home in a quiet Aurora neighborhood.

Just a day after the investigation exploded into public view in New York, and while the younger Mr. Zazi was undergoing three days of questioning by the F.B.I. that preceded his arrest, Mr. Jaji complained to a reporter about his nephew, according to an account in The Denver Post.

“He’s very greedy,” he told the newspaper. “He lived with me for six months and never gave me a penny.”

But he nonetheless defended his nephew. “We have a much better life here than in Afghanistan,” Mr. Jaji said. “He wants to become a citizen and bring his wife here from Pakistan."

They have since moved.

Mr. Jaji, according to some reports, told reporters in October that he had testified before a grand jury hearing evidence in the case in Brooklyn, but offered no details about what he said.

Few details of the alleged plot have emerged, but prosecutors have said they expect to file more charges. In September, Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. called the alleged plot one of the most serious threats to the United States since the 9/11 attacks.

Dan Frosch contributed reporting from Colorado, and Michael Wilson and Karen Zraick from New York.

A version of this article appears in print on January 28, 2010, on page A27 of the New York edition with the headline: Prosecutors May Have Cooperation In Zazi Case. Order Reprints|Today's Paper|Subscribe